Gumball was...pregnant? Marshall sat there just staring at his phone in disbelief, blinking a few times then moved a hand through his hair and stared at the table. It all made some form of sense, in the end, when Gumball had thrown up for the past five days including at midnight that night and his appetite, the mood swings he's been having, his headaches, backaches, his recent complaints of feeling bloated. He remembered the almost envious look on his boyfriend the one time, rare as it had been, about a week ago when he drained the red out of an apple. And there was all the sleeping, the sudden increase in sexual activity-
"Holy shit!" He gasped to himself holding his head, his eyes widening. Shock. Major shock. There was no way that Gumball wasn't pregnant but wasn't that also impossible? Didn't Gumball himself say it was impossible for a man to get pregnant? Didn't he?
"Marsh? Are you okay?" Gumball called from the living room snapping Marshall out of his thoughts, his scarlet eyes wide when he stood up making the cup lightly rattle. "Marshall?"
"I'm coming, baby!" He replied feeling a little snicker at how the words almost sounded sexual but it quickly faded with the situation. He picked up the cup rushing to the living room where Gumball sat looking up at him, his violet irises concerned when Marshall smiled crookedly which was the best he could muster with the guilt eating at him.
"What's wrong? You were in there for quite a while!" Gumball remarked shifting his legs the plate empty of eggs and Marshall noted that while scanning his eyes quick, hopefully quickly enough, over Gumball's flat tummy. "Marshall?"
"Gumball, I'm gonna tell you something important. Huff off and leave if you want too after, I won't stop you from leaving." Marshall started off looking at his boyfriend who stared up at him, an intent filled serious look had washed over his features and suspicion was darkening his bright violet eyes.
"What is it." It was both a question and a demand in one, making Marshall flinch from the Royal Voice the prince was using. It made Marshall feel ten times more guilty about what he'd done, as it was a violation of consent, but he needed to tell his boyfriend the results. He had too.
"Well, with you puking every morning for a week going on two now, with your food cravings acting up, sleeping so much, the mood swings, headaches and your backaches I naturally was convinced something bad was happening." Marshall started setting the cup of water down, which he hadn't remembered still being in his hand, and shoved his hands in his hoodie pockets. "So, I talked to Fionna when you fell back asleep this morning. She brought Doctor Prince with her, as I asked, and he kind of stuck a needle in ya and I got the vials done for him."
"Marshall Lee!" Gumball shouted standing up so suddenly it was like seeing him sitting and standing in different pictures. His eyes were enraged, just like his voice, when he pointed at his boyfriend. "That is a major violation of consent! I would have given it easily enough, you didn't have to take it from me while I sleep like-like an actual vampire would!"
The way Gumball had spit out the word 'vampire' like it was a disgusting swear word had Marshall's cheeks flushing like he'd been hit and he flinched. "It was for your own good, Bubs! You wouldn't tell me if anything was wrong and you refused to do anything about it! Always saying you'd be okay when you're not okay!"
"What do you mean I'm 'not okay'? I'm perfectly fine for an eighteen year old, Marshall!" Gumball shouted again with his Royal Voice still in place, his anger beyond his control and spiraling no where but down and he curled his fingers into fists."I'm in fit condition! I was just sick for a few days!"
"Bullshit!" Marshall shouted back finally, his cheeks flushed still, and his scarlet irises nearly glowed with his defensive side coming out. "You're not in fit condition and you were no sick for a few days! You're three weeks flipping pregnant, Gumball! When were you going to let it go on? Until you were so big you couldn't hide it from me anymore?"
This time Gumball's cheeks flushed and his anger slipped away momentarily, his eyes widening. He felt his brows come together tightly and he looked down at his stomach, his hands clutching at the fabric covering his flat belly. "Pregnant? I'm pregnant?" He asked quietly with wide eyes then looked up at Marshall.
The vampire looked away nodding. "You're pregnant, Bubs. But you didn't answer my question in the slightest bit." Marshall replied still on the defense, his displeasure open and almost oozing into the air with his hurt feelings that Gumball was only now seeing. "When were you going to tell me? When you got to big to hide it? Or would you have just hid in the kingdom, somewhere I couldn't find you and you just pop up with the baby? What were you going to do?"
Gumball stared at him, his anger coming back when he then turned walking to the ladder climbing up it with Marshall rushing after him. "I can't believe you, Marshall Lee." Gumball got out haughtily grabbing his backpack and slung it on his back just as Marshall floated up.
"Where are you going?" Marshall asked in a demanding tone while Gumball shoved past him climbing down the ladder. "Gumball! Where are you going?"
"Home!" Gumball shouted his cheeks heating up when he marched to the door and Marshall felt like he'd just been slapped. It was one word, a meaningless word, but it still hurt him. Gumball seemed to feel that and yet he kept his back to Marshall, yanking the door open stepping onto the wooden porch.
"I thought you said this was your home." Marshall whispered with wide eyes when Gumball flinched, a tiny movement, before stepping off the porch. "Bubs, please. Stay, I'm sorry for yelling and I'm sorry for doing what I did. Please, just don't go back! Please, don't break up for me over this!"
Gumball finally looked over his shoulder with surprise. "Marshall, I'm not going to break up with you. Never, I promised. I just...I need to get out of here for a little while. I need some space to clear my head before we talk anymore." Gumball replied looking down before walking across the porch and down the steps, hitting the cave floor. He didn't look back, knowing if he did he'd just sob and break down and so he just kept walking towards the entrance of the cave to get home.
The first thing Gumball did when he got back to the kingdom, to the palace, he rushed straight upstairs to his bedroom quietly. He was grateful for spending so much time with Marshall that he could sneak around just as silently as the vampire and that it helped with getting him upstairs to the top floor, where his bedroom was, without anyone noticing him. He was panting quietly as he rushed up the stairs, his phone vibrating in his bag insistently as a bee but he ignored it. He didn't feel like talking to anyone, not then, and his room was like a homing beacon to him as he rushed and he nearly had the gall to yawn. He quickly made his way to his bedroom, thankful for it, after all who wouldn't get tired after going up about seven flights of stairs and the seven hallways along with it?
He struggled to keep his panting quiet, his heart slamming against his ribs hard and quick with the exertion as he got to the top of the last flight of stairs rushing past guest bedrooms, his rec room, the bathroom, straight to the large double doors of the master bedroom. He ran forward, his bag thumping against his back, and he reached the doors slamming them open and shutting them leaning against the wood. He locked the doors, thankful for the simple one lock to actually lock both, and slumped to the floor panting quickly.
He really pushed it running up the hallways like that, and panting like he did, he felt like he couldn't get a proper breath in. He pressed a hand to his chest and felt his heart slamming against his hand as he struggled to get a good breath into his rather tight lungs and stand up, his legs feeling weirdly wobbly. He rushed to his body length mirror letting his bag slid off his shoulders and yanked his shirt up, twisting to the side, to stare at his flat belly. He slid his hand over the flat surface, staring hard enough like the bump would be clear if he stared long enough but he also knew from Fionna's pregnancy she started to bump out half way through the second month. Of course, twins were never taken into account so they thought for her first pregnancy she was just going to have a big baby.
Gumball was flat. No sign of a baby, at least physically showing, and it unnerved him just a bit. Sure, in his moments of mood swings he'd tell Marshall he wanted to have a baby with him but now? Now it was horrifying. And, anyhow, how would the child survive the first two weeks of pregnancy when he'd had the pseudo womb created only this past Tuesday? There's no way that could be possible, not without the pseudo womb in place, there was no way he could have spent the past two weeks pregnant. No way! He stood facing the mirror staring at his flat belly, and he rubbed the flat surface with his hand his brows pulling together tightly in confusion.
Three weeks? That was what, the first month of pregnancy? He was three weeks into the first month of pregnancy? He was just two weeks shy of being two months! He stumbled back to his bed, the back of his knees hitting the mattress and making him sit as he pressed a hand to his forehead. How? This was scientifically impossible! And yet he...he believed it. He believed he was pregnant! After all, he'd nearly come to that conclusion and if it hadn't been for Fionna mentioning it, getting that pseudo womb, and Marshall doing what he did, that would all be the evidence he needed. Along with the past two weeks of morning sickness and cravings like he'd been having.
He could only imagine what kind of child would come from a humanoid gum person and a vampire of the Nightosphere. It was like the fight that had been hovering since he left Marshall's slammed down on Gumball and tears were welling, rushing down his cheeks quickly like a dam had broken and tears were gushing. The guilt came rushing up and he nearly felt like he was suffocating under the intense feelings, the emotions, and he couldn't breath right. His pregnancy, his fight with Marshall not even thirty minutes ago, and he felt like he was being suffocated.
"What am I going to do?" He whimpered the words to himself sitting back farther on the bed and curling up on his side. "What in the actual flip am I going to do?" His phone buzzed, like it heard his question, from his bag on the floor and he lifted his head to stare at the bag. It took him maybe, two more calls after the first round of buzzing ended, and he got up just as the third call came through. He walked to the bag, scooping it up, and sitting on his bed sniffling and pulling the phone out staring at the caller ID before answering it.
"PG! Dude, please don't be mad ad Marshall! He just called me and-and he was crying , PG! Crying! Marshall, the king of no tears, was crying!" Fionna babbled in his ear when he heard a tiny gurgle and a soft grunt. "No! No, Kate, don't take Mama's phone!"
"Are you busy?" Gumball asked after clearing his throat, sniffling once and rubbing at his wet eyes. "Or is Kaitlynn just trying to get the phone?"
"Both." Fionna sighed out shifting the phone. "They're making all kinds of noises, gurgling, grunting and coo a lot now which I can repeat perfectly. Oh! And I caught Katie humming the other day when she was really happy! it was a tiny thing, barely a full hum, but my God it was adorable!"
"I bet!" Gumball got out in a weakly cheerful voice because even if he'd just been sobbing he did feel some happiness for his friend's babies developments. It was a nice reprieve of that huge episode of sobbing and guilt when Fionna made a soft, sympathetic noise.
"You'll be going through the same thing in eight months, Bubs. Unless...you're not gonna keep the baby." Fionna said the last words softly, making Gumball jerk and squeeze the phone gently. "You have that choice, Bubs. To not keep the baby."
"Are you saying I could get...get an abortion?" Gumball choked the word out like it was heinous, unbelievable. He squeezed his phone tighter, his stomach suddenly queasy at the very thought and he sat up right, his fingers twisting the fabric of his pants tightly.
"I'm just saying, PG, if you don't want to keep the baby you can go that route." Fionna suggested softly, softer now, before she spoke again. "I want you to keep the baby, PG. No one deserves to have a baby more than you do. This is your baby, your choice to do it. I've only told what you can do if you don't want to keep the baby, but I hope and pray you'll keep this baby, PG."
"..." He couldn't muster anything out, the nausea suddenly intense and his head spun. "I gotta go." He choked the words out hanging up quickly, knowing full well he'd never make it to the bathroom down the hall or to his own adjoining bathroom, he rushed to his trash bin and promptly emptied the contents of his stomach. He was gasping, clinging to the bins rim tightly, taking deep raspy breathes as he struggled to rebound from the vomiting.
Abortion? His baby? Abort his baby? The nausea was intense at the mere thought of that, his knees nearly giving out, and he took large breathes before yanking himself from the trash, the smell too much. He stumbled to the double doors of his balcony shoving them open and walking outside taking a deep breath of the cool night air, shivering, and curling his arms over his stomach. Could he do that? Take away his baby's life? No. No he couldn't. After all, he had no idea how to be a parent but seeing Fionna with Kaitlynn and Asher he longed for a family of his own with Marshall.
It was like warm water was injected into his ice cold body with tears rushing down, tears he hadn't been aware of welling or sliding and he blinked clearing his watery vision. This baby wasn't just his, it was half of Marshall and he could never ever hurt anything that was half of Marshall. He turned back to the bedroom, rushing in reaching out picking his phone up and walking back outside and unlocked the screen. It'd been close to an hour now, since the fight, and already it felt like too long and maybe, just maybe, the thought of a living baby in his womb somehow, made him want to see Marshall. He dialed the easily familiar number, lifting it to his ear and closing his eyes. He could, would, understand if Marshall just ignored the call and let him go to voice mail. Even crossed his fingers when the sound of the other line being picked up and shuffling around he let out a sudden breath.
"Bubba?" Marshall's voice nearly made him crumble, like so many other things in this long eternal hour. Though he wanted to clear his thoughts that just didn't work out the way it was supposed too and he wanted nothing more than to go home.
"Marshall? Please, come and get me. I want to come home."